Know It All
by Yakuzaman5
Summary: Cordelia finds her life turned upside down when she befriends the new girl in class, a Know It All drop out from a famous military family. Love is War, after all, and Cordelia may suddenly the strength to win Chrom over... if, of course, she could even muster up the nerve to talk to him. Modern AU. Highschool.
1. Chapter 1

_Know it all_

Cordelia gave a soft sigh as she zoned out, staring longingly at the back of _his _head. Oh, what she wouldn't give to be there sitting him, laughing at something he said...

"Cordelia!" Professor Frederick snapped. She bolted in her seat, eyes wide. "Y-yes sir." She stammered.

"Since you seem so intent on not paying attention... you can give our new student the tour of the facilities."

She blinked. There was a new student?

Her gaze fell on the girl standing in the front of the room. A long black cloak, blonde hair, and a book tucked under her shoulder. The girl smiled at her, and mouthed a quick hello.

"That shall be all for now." Frederick went on to say. "I expect the rest of you to spend your break studying."

No one did, of course. The instant he stepped outside the room, the class circled around in their usual groups. Chrom, Vaike, Stahl, the exchange student who was living with Stahl, continued their conversation uninterupted, although Vaike did make a point to sit on the desk itself. Henry, as usual, was sitting in the back, giggling at something or other that no one else would find funny.

Instead of speaking with her friends, Cordelia thought it best to be polite.

"Hello!" She said. "My name is Cordelia. I suppose I'm going to be your guide today."

She laughed. "Nice to meet you too." She said. Despite the dark clothes, the girl overall seemed to be rather pleasant. "I'm Robin." Noting Cordelia opening her mouth, she quickly starting talking again. "And please no... I hear that joke all the time. I'm sick of it."

"Actually, I was going to ask what you were reading." Cordelia said, a smile tugging at her lips. "It's not a batman comic, is it?"

"Oh, haha. Very funny." Robin said. "Actually... it's Sun Tzu."

"Sun tsuzzit?"

"Sun Tzu." Robin said patiently. "You know... the Art of War?"

Cordelia looked at her in confusion. "Why are you reading that?"

"Because it's fun." Robin said. "Besides, I want to be a military adviser."

"Oh, really?" Cordelia said, not sure what else to say. "That's... interesting."

She laughed again. "You don't have to look so surprised." She said. "I've been studying to be a tactician all my life..."

Cordelia gestured for her to move towards the door, and she nodded. They tried to continue their conversation while they were moving, when...

"Hey."

Cordelia stopped. That was _Chrom's voice. _Did he really... did he actually just...

"Hi!" Robin chirped, as she whirled around to face the group of boys. "Nice to meet you... I'm new. I mean, my name is Robin, but I'm new... And you are?"

"I'm Chrom." Chrom said, as he stood up and, to Cordelia's displeasure, took her hand. "This is Vaike... Stahl... and Lon 'Qu."

"Lon 'Qu?" She repeated curiously, as she turned to face him. "You're from Valm?"

He gave a curt nod. He was so shy, Cordelia thought. You couldn't even speak to him without him shirking away.

"I studied there for a while." Robin said. "It was really quite charming. And there are lots of really talented swordsmen there. I learned a lot."

He still didn't speak. Instead, he looked away from them.

"He's not very talkative." Chrom explained to Robin. "Even with us..."

"Oh, can he not speak this language?" Robin asked, clearly concerned. She turned back to him and uttered something in a language Cordelia thought to be Valmese. He still didn't respond.

"Uh, he can." Chrom said. "He just doesn't like to talk."

"Oh." Robin said. "I'm... sorry."

This was absolutely ridiculous. He was RIGHT THERE and she couldn't bring up anything she could say to him... Before she could work out this little dilemma... she had missed her chance.

"I probably do need to take that tour now." Robin was saying. "That guy Frederick doesn't mess around, does he...? It was nice meeting you Chrom! Buh-bye."

Robin, to Cordelia's surprise, grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away to the door.

"What was with you?" She demanded, the instant they stepped outside. "You were like a zombie."

"What?" Cordelia asked. "I was not!"

"Yes, you were." Robin said. "You had this blank, dead look in your eyes..."

She raised her arms, and began shambling forward."Chroooooommmm..." She moaned.

"Cut it out!" Cordelia cried, waving her arms. "Please!"

She started to shamble towards her. "Chroooooooooommmmm..."

"Stop it!"

"Chroooommmm... I love you..."

"What?" Cordelia repeated, her eyes wide. "I didn't say that out loud, did I?"

"So I was right!" Robin declared. "I knew it."

Oh, for heaven's sakes... this would not be a fun conversaion.

...

"Yeah, he does seem pretty cool." Robin said amicably, as they leaned over the side of the Asheryune belltower. "Wow... the view here is amazing."

"Just don't come here near the turn of the hour." Cordelia warned. "The noise is absolutely unbearable."

"Stop trying to change the subject!" Robin said. "I want to talk about Chrom!"

She sighed. "Of course you do."

She looked forlornly across the school grounds, were a couple stood holding hands. "I've loved Chrom for as long as I can remember." She said. "There's just something about him... you've seen how he is. He's so warm and friendly..." She sighed. "Someone you can rely on. You know?"

"He's a good guy." Robin said. "I can tell."

"And yet..." She gripped the side of the bar. "I can't even talk to him..."

Robin looked her over. "Well, we'll just have to fix that, won't we?" She said.

She looked confused. "We?"

"Yeah." She said. She gave her a thumbs up. "Military school was absolutely filled to the most manly men imaginable. I know a thing or two about getting their attention."

...

Later that night, they had found themselves at Robin's mansion. Or perhaps... Castle would be a better way to describe it.

"The most important thing..." Robin began, ruler in hand, as she walked in circles around Cordelia. "Is to be yourself."

"But I'm worthless-"

Robin smacked her on the back of the head with the ruler. "That's exactly the kind of thinking that got you into this mess." She scolded. "I mean, think about it. If you could just talk with Chrom, you'll be that much closer to making out on a beach somewhere."

She scrunched up her nose. "What do you mean..."

"It's not that hard to talk to people you like." Robin said. "You just have to find something to talk about."

"I see." Cordelia said. "So you're saying I should just tell him how I feel?"

Another smack on the head. "No!" Robin said. "That would be a terrible thing to do. You have to be interesting. You can't just walk up and tell someone... 'hey, put a ring on me!'

"I would never tell him to do that!" Cordelia replied, scandalized.

"Well, that's what it sounds like!" Robin said. "You have to get rid of this mindset that there's a prize to be won, here. You're just having fun. There's no real pressure."

...

Robin was a bit of a social butterfly, Cordelia thought. She was already a good friend, but she absolutely did not sit still at all.

"Excuse me." A rough voice said behind her, and Cordelia instantly moved out of the way. A hand reached for an apple. "Hey... Are you Cordelia?"

She turned around. "Yes?" She asked.

"I was just wondering." He turned away. Short blue hair that for some reason was billowing all over his face. And... was that a mask?

Cordelia curiously looked at him for a bit longer than she should have, but she managed to find the resolve to forget about it and move on.

"Hey, Cordelia!" Robin called, waving from her table. "Over here?"

She hesistated. Normally, she would never have hesitated, but at the moment, Robin was sitting with a very suspicious someone.

"You know each other, right?" Robin asked, as Cordelia sat down next to her. "Cordelia, this is Lissa. Chrom's little sister."

"Robin, I'm sure I've known her longer than you." Cordelia said. "Or at least... I know who she is..."

"That makes a world of difference, doesn't it?" Robin asked cheerfully, as she bit down into an apple.

"Did he say something to you?" Lissa asked her.

"Who, say what now?" Cordelia asked. "Chrom?"

"No not him... the boy with the mask." Lissa said impatiently. "Marth."

"Marth?" Cordelia repeated. "The Hero King?"

"Well, that's what he calls himself." Maribelle, Lissa's best friend, said, as haughtily as ever. "He's trouble, Lissa. Forget about him."

"But he's so dreamy!" Lissa protested, as they looked between the other three, looking for reassurance. "Isn't he?"

"He seemed kind of rude, to be honest." Cordelia admitted.

"What did he say to you?" Robin asked curiously.

"Asked what my name was."

"Uggggh." Lissa groaned, slinking in her chair. "You're not serious, are you?"

"He wasn't interested." Cordelia clarified. "It was pretty weird, actually."

"He is not weird!" Lissa protested. "He's just misunderstood! Henry is weird!"

...


	2. Chapter 2

Robin was up and away the most unreliable teacher she ever had.

"What are we even doing?" She asked, as she held up the lance. It was a legitimate antique that Robin kept on her bedroom wall.

"Sparring, silly!" Robin said, as she held up her weapon of choice... A short sword shaped like a lightning bolt, which she affectionately referred to as 'Levi.' "Exercise is good for you!"

"But I don't know how to handle a wea-"

Robin brought the blade up to her face and kissed it. Much to Cordelia's shock, the blade began to sparkle with a electricity. "Well, you better learn then!" Robin chirped. She then tapped her leg with the blade.

Cordelia gave a sharp yelp as the electricty coursed through her. "What are you doing?"

"Teaching." Robin said, as she jabbed her again, ignoring Cordelia's yelp of pain. "You better learn qui-ick."

She leaned forward, this time a little more slowly, to attack her again. Cordelia stepped backward, brandishing the lance out in front of her.

"Widen your stance a little." Robin said. "Okay... that looks good. Now... Here I come!"

...

A few hours later, Cordelia found herself aching as she stepped out of Robin's shower.

"Wasn't that fun?" Robin asked cheerfully as Cordelia entered her room.

"I feel terrible." Cordelia moaned.

"I'll take that as a yes." Robin said, nodding. "We're actually having a nice dinner tonight... Stick around!"

"I'm not even sure I can stomach it..." Cordelia said. "I really do think I should just go home and lie down."

Robin's expression softened. "I'm sorry I was so hard on you, Cordelia." She said, as she moved to sit beside her. "I guess we can't all be into getting electrocuted, huh?"

"I'd be fine with just going for a run." Cordelia admitted.

Robin groaned. "But I hate running...! Okay... you suffered today, I suffer tomorrow."

"I hate running too." Cordelia admitted. "But that's what this is all about, right? Covering my weaknesses?"

"Exactly." Robin said, nodding. "I'm glad you listen, at least."

She groaned. "Listening isn't good enough." She said.

"I agree." Robin said. "If you want to win Chrom's heart, you're going to have to be fast..." She jabbed her fist in the air. "Aggressive...!" She moved her weight on top of Cordelia, sitting on top of her. "Passionate...!"

"I get it, Robin." Cordelia said. "Now get off me."

...

"What's he doing?" Cordelia asked in a whisper, as Robin toyed around with her little telescope.

"Hush." Robin mouthed. "He's with Frederick."

"Frederick?" Cordelia repeated, alarmed. "He's not in trouble, is he?"

"No, I don't think so." Robin said, frowning. "They're just talking..."

They parted ways shortly after that. They sat in silence as Chrom made his way around the school grounds, greeting everyone he passed.

"He's such a nice guy." Robin noted. "No wonder you want him..."

"Isn't he, though..." Cordelia sighed. "Oh, he's so wonderful..."

Robin turned to face her, opening her mouth to say something... when something ducked behind a nearby tree.

Robin frowned. Making a whirling gesture with her hands, she mouthed something and pointed to a tree behind them. Cordelia looked around. Nothing was there.

She turned back to face her, quizzically, but Robin shook her head. "You know, Cordelia," Robin said, loudly. "You're right. He is pretty wonderful."

Her eyes were not on Chrom, but on the nearby tree. Cordelia eyed the tree as well curiously, as she looked up at Robin again. "What are you...?"

"There he is!" Robin said, jumping up. Cordelia whirled around, and in a flash, the boy in blue who had been watching them dashed away to the other side of the school.

"Wow." Robin said. "What a creep."

"That was the guy who spoke to me the other day... Marth."

"That weirdo with the mask?" Robin asked. "That one that Lissa likes?"

She sighed. "Yes."

"That's awkward." Robin said, humming.

"Yeah." Cordelia said, nodding. "Worse than that, even. I mean, who would spy on someone, just because they liked someone?"

"Losers, that's who." Robin said, as she placed the telescope back to her eye. "Hey, he's talking to some guy."

"Who is it?" Cordelia asked curiously.

"I don't know..." Robin said, frowning. "Let's see... red hair... kind of short..."

"Red hair?" Cordelia asked curioiusly. "You don't mean Gaius, do you? His is more of... an orange."

She scowled. "No, I don't mean Gaius." She snapped. "I mean... here, look for youself."

She tossed the telescope over to Cordelia. Surprised, she nearly fumbled the telescope and dropped it. Making sure she had a tight grip on it, she moved herself over to where Robin was sitting and put the telescope up to her eye.

"Where are they?" She asked, as she moved the telescope around the crowd of people. "I can't seem to find them..."

Instead of answering, Robin grabbed the telescope and readjusted it.

"Oh, okay." She said, frowning. "Thanks."

Her frown deepened. "Robin..." She said slowly. "That's not a guy."

"Huh?" Robin asked. "What are you-"

"That's Sully." Cordelia said, annoyance welling up inside of her. "One of Chrom's... oldest friends.

Cordelia stiffened as Sully let out a loud, uproarious laugh and slapped Chrom on the back. "She's not very feminine." She offered, in an attempt to placate Robin's clear surprise.

"Was that really a girl?" Robin said, sounding awed. "She, like, grabbed Chrom from behind and yanked him off the ground..."

Cordelia scowled. "Yes." She said, trying to keep calm. "That's Sully, all right..."

Robin looked down at her, eyebrows raised. "How well do you know her, Cordelia?"

"Well... we've all gone to school together all of our lives." Cordelia said. "I know her well enough, I suppose... I mean, we're not close, if that's what you're asking. Sully's always been a bit of a tomboy."

Robin cupped her cheek in her hand. "I see..." She said thoughtfully.

...

Later that day, Cordelia found herself, once again, regretting her choice of lab partner. "Sumia, maybe I should handle the liquids..." She said, her voice soft and cautious.

"No, I've got this!" Sumia said brightly, as she swung around in her chair. "I just need to dump this... here... and move this... here... and then..."

In her haste to help, her hand accidently knocked over the vial that was sitting over the heater. It hit the floor, and with a loud crack, exploded in their faces.

"I'm so sorry!" Sumia said, her face in tears, as nearly everyone in the room turned to glare at her. "I swear I didn't mean it-!"

Leaning over, she made as if to begin cleaning up the mess... only for the sleeve of her sweatshirt to make contact with the liquid, and catch fire.

"Eeeeeeeeeh!" She shrieked, as she barreled towards the sink, her gaze locked on the faucet. Of course, she did not notice the open cabinet door, which she barrelled straight into, causing her to sprawl across a nearby table.

While the rest of the class were busy trying to put out the fire, Robin's focus was still on her experiment... or rather, on her partner.

"Aren't you going to help?" She snapped at her partner for the day.

He shrugged. "You seem to know what you're doing, Bubbles." He said, as he reached for another piece of candy. "I'd hate to get in your way."

She groaned. "I'm not asking you to do it for me. I'm just asking you to help."

He leaned back in his chair, dangerously balancing on two legs. "Well, maybe if you made it worth my while..."

...

"If it was Gaius you were in love with, I'd probably have to punch you." Robin informed her, as they sat down at their table. "I mean... honestly. He's unbearable."

Cordelia laughed. "He's not that bad." She said. "He's just a little... opportunistic?"

"I like Gaius." Lissa said thoughtfully. "He's actually fairly good friends with Em. He's always been really nice to us."

"Em?" Robin inquired. "Who's that?"

"Oh, my sister." Lissa said. "Gaius helped us out when our parents died-"

The conversation, however, came to an end the instant Maribelle approached the table.

"I don't believe it!" She said, her voice even more high pitched than usual. "The absolute nerve of him!"

She sat her carefully packed lunch delicately in front of her before sitting down. She was clearly not herself, Cordelia noted.

"Uh, Maribelle?" Robin said. "What are you on about this time?"

She looked up at them. "I don't think this concerns you." She said, her voice cold. "I would like to speak to LIssa, please. Alone."

Robin scowled. "Fine. Whatever you want. Come on, Cordelia."

"See you later!" Lissa chirped, as the two of them headed off.

"I'm not sure why they're friends, to be honest." Cordelia admitted. "LIssa is so friendly, and Maribelle is..."

"Lonely." Robin said shortly. "She thinks so highly of Lissa because Lissa is is the sort of person who cares about everyone... but in the same way, she's horrified at the idea of anyone taking away their time together.

Cordelia didn't know how to respond to that.

"She needs new friends." Robin said thoughtfully. "I don't think she's a bad person, Cordelia... we probably shouldn't judge her. Maybe she really did have something important to say to Lissa."

...


	3. Chapter 3

"Why did you drop out of military school, anyway?"

The question had been nagging at the back of her mind for as long as they had known each other. Robin, all confident, all knowing, friendly, bubbly, genius Robin, willingly dropped out of military school to attend a (Admittedly rather well run) public school in it's place?

Robin grinned, as she gripped her guitar. "Oh, getting nosy now, aren't we?" She teased, as she strummed out a quick chord.

"No, I'm just curious." Cordelia said. "I mean, you said it yourself... you want to be in the army, right? Why would you drop your studies for doing so if you're still interested?"

Robin frowned. "I have my reasons, Cordelia." She said. She did not look particularly pleased. "But on the whole, it's none of your concern."

"Why not?" Cordelia asked. "I trusted you to help me with Chrom. The least I can do is listen to what-"

"I'm not interested in talking to you about this." Robin snapped. Cordelia had never seen her look so disgruntled.

There was something in her expression that bothered her. Something... off. In the end, Cordelia decided not to press the issue, and the two spent the rest of the day finishing thier project for science.

"Sumia is so unreliable." Cordelia sighed, as she checked her watch. "Look... she's late, again."

"What does she even do in her free time?" Robin asked, bemused. "I mean, that girl is always late... always screwing up... always tripping over herself... and now, she can't even show up to help us out."

"She's always been like that." Cordelia said. "But you would think she would have the courtesy to at least _call..." _

"You're not talking about Sumia, are you?"

The two jumped from their positions in shock. Their heads whirled to the window, where a familiar looking mop of orange hair was grinning over at them.

"Gaius!" Robin said furiously.

"You actually showed up?" Cordelia asked, amazed. "I... ummm... wasn't expecting that."

"Ah, who would decline an invitation to spend a day with two lovely ladies such as yourselves?" He said, as he hoisted himself in through the window. Robin winced.

"Hey, I just washed that!" She said, as Gaius slid over the counter. "And this isn't a date, Gaius... We really do need to work." And as an afterthought... "And what kind of gentlemen keeps two lovely ladies like ourselves waiting anyway?"

He popped a piece of candy into his mouth. "Nice house, Bubbles." He said amicably, obviously ignoring the thinly veiled jab at his character. "Real classy."

"Have you seen Sumia today?" Cordelia quickly said, stepping in between the two of them.

"Yeah, I did." He said. "I passed by her place on the way here."

"What?" Cordelia asked. "Really? But she lives way out in the country!"

"I was doing something out there." He said vaguely. "Anyway, she's actually really busy today. Maribelle hired her to teach Lissa how to ride a horse."

"What?" Robin said. "Really?"

"Sumia is very good with animals." Cordelia explained. "And Maribelle's family pays to keep their horses out there, so..."

"Well, she could have told us about this earlier." Robin said, sighing. "Ah, well. Gaius, at least you're here to help now."

"Hmmm..." Gaius mumbled, as he looked over the piece of parchment."Actually, it looks pretty good to me." he said. "I think it's about time we took a break."

Much to Robin's displeasure, he clambered back to where he had come from, again sliding across the counter and into the window. "It was nice seeing you!" He said cheerfully, as he leapt out of sight.

...

Cordelia outright refused Robin's demands to not include Gaius's name on the project, and they were still arguing about it when they entered class later that day.

"I am not putting the name of someone who broke and entered into my home on my project!"

"Well, that's fine." Cordelia shot back. "Then I'll put it on there for you."

"Actually, I think I can handle that much, ladies." Gaius said smoothly, as he came over and sat by them. "Cheers."

He leaned over and signed his name under Robin's, ignoring her scowl. "Hey... Sumia's name isn't on here either!"

"Of course not." Robin said. "She's late... again."

The bell rang. Sumia was still nowhere to be found.

"It's almost like she's doing this on purpose." Robin hissed as Frederick began ticking off names for the attendance sheet. "Almost like..."

The door burst open.

"Oh, I'm soooo sorry for being late, Frederick." Sumia said, flushing from the cold. "I'm really sorry, but I just lost track of the time...!"

"It's alright, Sumia." Frederick said, in a bored voice, as if he had learned to expect this. "Find a seat."

Sumia gave him a grateful smile as she headed for her seat. She smiled warmly at Chrom as she passed... and with a flourish, tripped and smashed her head against his desk.

"Sumia!" He said, as he got to his feet. "Are you alright?"

"Ooooooo..." She moaned, as she clutched her head. "I... think so."

She tried to stagger to her feet, but to no avail. She fell back across the desk.

Chrom, without a second thought, wrapped his arm around her and got to his feet. "Sumia, are you alright?" He asked again. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"... twelve?" She replied, her voice slurred, looking more curious than anything. "What does that have to do with anything...?"

"A concussion, I think." Chrom said. "She needs to see the nurse."

He walked her over to the door, whispering comforting things into her ear. "Don't worry... it'll be alright..."

Robin narrowed her eyes.

...

"Why are we following Sumia again?" Cordelia asked uncertainly, as she tagged along behind her.

"Well..." Robin said, biting her lip. "I was just thinking... of... ummm... making sure she was alright."

"Well, we could just ask her, you know..."

"No!" Robin said quickly. "I'd rather her not know we were onto her... I mean, watching her... watching OUT for her..."

A giggle came from behind them. Robin nearly jumped out of her skin. That giggle was so out of place... it couldn't be...?

She whirled around. It wasn't Sumia. It was, in fact, someone Robin had never even seen before. But before she could register who it was, she giggled again and walked away.

...

"So what did you with Sumia?" Robin asked, trying to keep her voice casual, despite Cordelia's harsh glare. "Like... anything interesting come up?"

"Not really." Lissa said, frowning. "Just a whole lot of horsey things..."

"Uhhh... Horsey things?"

"Like, she would show me how to do stuff." Lissa replied. "Like, tell them where I wanted to go, and how quickly, and stuff."

"Oh." Robin said. "Like, she didn't talk to you at all?"

"Of course she did." LIssa said. "Nothing important, though... I mean, she asked how Chrom was doing... I mean, I don't know her that well." She said quickly. "Maribelle knows her a bit better, though."

"Yes, it's true." Maribelle said stiffly. "I've known Sumia for quite a long while. Why, likely even longer than you, Cordelia."

"Why are you asking, anyway?" Lissa asked curiously.

"Sumia didn't help us with our project." Robin said. "I'm not too happy about it."

"What?" Lissa said. "But after our lesson was over, she told us that she was going to go by your place."

...


	4. Chapter 4

"Come on, Robin." Cordelia cajoled. "Why are you so interested in her, anyway?"

"I'm just fascinated that any one person can be so ridiculously clumsy and not be in a wheelchair." Robin said, as she focused the telescope on Sumia, who fell over as she passed Lon'qu. He shot a disgusted look at her as he walked around her. Briefly, Robin wondered whether Lon'qu could possibly have grasped what was going on, but then dismissed that thought just as quickly. Lon'qu pretty much treated every girl that way.

Hmmmm...

"The pieces of the puzzle are starting to come together." Robin declared, as she folded up the telescope. "I think, Cordelia, that we need to watch Sumia even more closely."

She groaned. "What for?"

"It would sound insane if I said it aloud." Robin admitted, as she twirled a piece of her hair around her finger. "But if you would watch her yourself, I think you would start to understand..."

"Ah, so I'm not the only one who's reached this conclusion!"

Robin jumped out of her seat.

"Miriel!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Why, the same of you, of course." She said. "I am researching quite the odd phenomonom... One which, I'm pleased to see, you have uncovered quicker than even I."

"Are you serious?" Robin asked, surprised. "So you've been...?"

She noddded. "That is correct. I have arrived at a nearly identical conclusion to you, I think. Please... could you tell me what you've observed?"

"Well..." Robin said, biting her lip. "Doesn't it strike you as odd that Sumia generally only gets into accidents around certain people?"

"What do you mean?" Cordelia asked, looking between the two of them, clearly perplexed.

"Yes." Miriel said, adjusting her glasses. "In fact, I've started keeping records of who's in the room whenever she has one of her more... colorful accidents."

"What?" Robin said, flabberghasted. "Are you serious? Can I see it?"

...

"Okay..." Robin said. "Now this isn't conclusive all on it's own... But it is certainly very suggestive."

"It's just a bunch of numbers, Robin." Cordelia said impatiently. "I really would like it if you would tell me what's going on?"

"Do you notice anything odd about these figures, Cordelia?" Robin asked, as she folded her hands in front of her. "Anything at all?"

She frowned, as she looked at the graph in front of her. "According to this..." She said, slowly. "She has more accidents in front of some people than others..."

"And what do those names have in common?" Robin asked.

Cordelia's frown deepened, as he gaze soared over the computer screen. "It doesn't happen that much in front of me..." She muttered. "So it can't be people who have classes with her..." She reached forward, and scrolled the document further, comparing names. "It can't be people she spends time around... because Maribelle and Lissa's names are so infrequent..."

Her mouth opened wide.

"It only happens in front of boys!" She exclaimed. Robin, ever the sarcastic, slowly began clapping her hands together. Her meaning was clear... 'took you long enough.'

"But that's only assuming this graph is accurate though." Cordelia said quickly, as if she had said something nasty and offensive. After all, Sumia had always been a very good friend to her, and accusing her of faking something like this for attention was practically..."

"She never seems to have accidents around Maribelle." Robin countered. "And Lissa didn't mention any accidents the day they hung out together."

Cordelia shook her head. "That's just ridiculous!" She said. "I have faith in Sumia. She would never do anything so nasty, or cruel, or absolutely _ridiculous..."_

"Check the most frequent name." Robin said lazily.

"Check the what now?"

"Check the name that it happens around the most." Robin said.

Cordelia rolled her eyes and began roving over the graph.

"There are a lot of names, here." She commented. "I don't think that anything..."

Suddenly, a bar far higher than anything else popped onto the screen. It was over three times as large as the next biggest one. According to this little graph, dozens of huge accidents seemed to occur around this one person.

_Chrom. _

Something inside her snapped.

"That BITCH."

...

"I can't believe it." Cordelia said, now that the initial shock was over. She looked even more downtrodden and depressed than usual. 'I thought we were _friends..." _

"There, there." Robin said soothingly, as she patted her arm. "You have better friends, anyway."

"She knows I've been in love with him forever!" She wailed, as she buried her head in her arms. "This is so... urgh!"

Robin rolled her eyes. "Well, everyone seems to know about it..." She muttered.

"Hi, guys!" Lissa said, cheerful (And oblivious!) as ever, as she sat down beside them. "What's shaking?"

Cordelia wailed again.

"School's wearing you down that bad, huh?" Lissa said. "Sometimes I just want to break down and cry, too..."

"_You're not helping, Lissa." _Robin mouthed to her, as she patted Cordelia's arm again. "What she means to say is..." Robin said. "That there's just too much good going on in your life right now to worry about the bad."

A soft giggle came from behind her. Robin froze.

Lissa, somewhat surprisingly, noticed her expression. "It's her again, isn't it?" She said, her voice a low whisper.

Robin nodded.

"No one's having a good day today, huh?" Lissa said aloud.

Maribelle jogged up to them, beaming.

"Guess what?" She said, as she held aloft a piece of paper in her hands.

Lissa scrunched up her face. "I'm not good at guessing games." She complained.

"Well..." She flipped the paper around. "Ta da!" She exclaimed. "Chrom personally sent me an invitation to a party!"

The three of them sat in silence.

"So?" Robin asked.

Cordelia gave another sob.

Lissa looked up at her in confusion. "You mean the one I left in your locker?"

"What?" Maribelle blinked. "You did?" She flipped the paper back around and examined it's contents. "But it says right here... 'Chrom!"

"Those are produced by machines, Maribelle." Lissa explained. "The only difference between them is the name of the person who it was sent to."

"Oh... really?" Maribelle said, clearly taken aback. "I... I see."

"Emm used to throw parties when she went here all the time." She explained to Robin. "Chrom picked up the slack when she graduated."

"Chrom?" Robin asked, bemused. "A party animal?"

"It's just a little get together." Lissa explained. "Like... Emm likes to get to know the people Chrom and I talk to."

"That's kind of odd of her." Robin said aloud. "Very overprotective, I think. I mean, Father sent me to the Academy when I was eight, and he's never met any of my friends..."

Lissa shrugged. "Emm's not our mom, so I guess it's just different with us." She said. "Oh yeah, you want to come, don't you?"

And just like that, she handed them each a silvery invitation.

"Rather fancy, for a small get together." Robin noted, as she examined the invitation. "Do you treat all your guests like royalty, or what?"

Lissa laughed. "Emm will make you feel that way, believe me." She said. "You'll like her Robin."

"I think I will, actually." Robin said coolly, as she pocketed her invitation. "Thanks."


End file.
